‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ Highlights The Power Of ‘Star Wars: Andor’
by Frank Martin
The original Star Wars movie is undoubtedly a classic. It developed an entire franchise that’s beloved across the world and generates billions of dollars. So much has come after it to expand upon the mythology and the characters, but this wasn’t a given when the Star Wars: A New Hope first premiered.
It took a lot of work to build upon the clash between the Rebellion and the Empire. This was first explored in Star Wars: Rogue One and then expanded upon in Star Wars: Andor. And when the series is taken as a whole, it provides a whole new perspective about the Rebellion that audiences first encountered in A New Hope, providing a treasure trove of context for how the characters arrived at that moment.
Of course, any Star Wars fan has even a passing concept of how A New Hope begins. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is confronted by Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), who is in search of the stolen Death Star plans. These plans become a McGuffin for the film and allow Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to destroy the battle station. However, members of the Rebellion aren’t even aware of the Death Star at first. It isn’t until Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) becomes obsessed with discovering the Empire’s endgame that he plants a seed for the Rebellion to eventually steal the plans in Rogue One.
Of course, A New Hope can be enjoyed and the plot easily followed without ever watching Rogue One or Andor. That’s how audiences fell in love with it when it first premiered. But the extra context provides a greater sense of scope, scale, and stakes to the start of the movie. This isn’t just some random encounter between Darth Vader and Princess Leia over the Death Star plans. It’s been a meticulously long journey to get to that point in the Rebellion. There have been so many lives lost and blood spilled to make the Death Star’s destruction happen. Absorbing Andor and Rogue One allows fans to enjoy A New Hope with an entirely new outlook and appreciation.
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